S5E11 - Whatever Happened Happened

It’s a very special April Fools Day episode of LOST.

Young Ben is dead! Behold, the paradox is upon us!
APRIL FOOLS!
Ben isn’t dead. He can’t be. We know this. Though he isn’t exactly doing cartwheels either.

The confusion and potential pitfalls of time travel couldn’t have been better exemplified in the conversation between Miles and Hurley. I actually get everything that Miles was saying, as headachey as it all is. This is Ben’s past so he CAN’T die because we know he’s alive as an adult, but everyone else is experiencing it as their present so they can kick the bucket, no problem. The one thing Hurley did address that is a problem though, why doesn’t adult Ben remember meeting these people? Though kind of hokey, Richard actually hints at a potential explanation. More on that later.

Sawyer asked Kate to pull his finger before jumping out of the helicopter.
APRIL FOOLS!
He asked her to check up on his daughter Clementine once she was rescued. Yeah, we kind of all knew that, right?

No offense if you or someone you love is named Clementine, but geez… why would a parent do that to their child? The thing they left out, which I thought was a pretty significant realization, was Kate’s reaction once she found out that she had known Cassidy briefly before coming to the island. No big deal, but you’d think she’d at least be like, “Wow, small world” or something. Anyway, Cassidy smells her lie about being Aaron’s mom a mile away. I guess one develops a refined BS detector after shacking up with a con only to become one yourself.

All is well in Dharmaville and no one suspects any treason.
APRIL FOOLS!
There’s plenty of suspicion to go around, starting with all the new people.

Horace immediately jumps on the idea that busting out Sayid was an inside job. This is only supported by the open jail cell and “janitor keys” left behind. Sawyer immediately tells Miles to round up Jack, Kate, and Hurley to keep on eye on them.

Juliet is here to save the day!
APRIL FOOLS!
There’s a big difference between delivering a baby and suturing a bullet wound.

Juliet tells Sawyer she can’t fix it, only a real surgeon can. If only we knew one…

Jack is a lowly janitor.
APRIL FOOLS!
He’s a spinal surgeon.

We all know this, but no one else does. Talk about blowing your cover. There’s another good reason to not volunteer to save wee-Ben. Anyway, Jack is very on board with the whatever happened happened idea so believes Ben won’t/can’t die or just doesn’t care. That’s cold Jack. Cold. Kate decides she can’t just sit by and do nothing so volunteers to donate her blood.

SIDEBAR: I’ve tried to donate blood twice and nearly passed out twice. I have no problem with needles, but what I do have is veins the size of Texas and the ability to bleed out at twice the rate of a normal human being. A bit of a shock to the body to say the least.

The blood donation worked. Ben is stabilized. He grows up to be a very well-adjusted adult and everyone lives happily ever after.
APRIL FOOLS!
Only the others can save him. BUT AT WHAT PRICE?

Kate suggests that the others may be able to help. Juliet offers to come, but Kate says no, she’s got her life with Sawyer, blah, blah, blah. Actually, I thought this was very grown-up of her and I’m glad that they’re making her into something other than “the other woman.” She genuinely seems to wish them well and just wants to do what’s right.

Aaron was kidnapped in the grocery store.
APRIL FOOLS!
Kate’s just an inattentive mom.

Knock on wood. Don’t want to jinx myself, there. I can totally see my daughter haulin’ off in public one day and I have to make the walk of shame to the front after they announce the “lost child” over the intercom. Whatever happened to those elastic toddler leashes? They never really caught on, did they? That and Bird Flu. No one talks about that anymore either, but I’m sure it’s still around.

Sawyer rushed to help Kate because he’s still in love with her.
APRIL FOOLS!
He did it for Juliet.

Again, I’m happy to see the clean break with the Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet love rectangle. Sawyer says he’s done a lot of growing up in the last three years and it shows. I really hope they keep him paired up with Juliet. They seem good together, though I’d still like to see how their initial three more weeks turned into three years.

“What’s up, Claire’s mom? Meet my son, Aaron.”
APRIL FOOLS!
“He’s your grandson.”

So we finally find out Kate’s real motivation for going back to the island and I must say, I’m impressed. Though I assumed it was because someone took Aaron and threatened horrible things unless she went back, it turns out to be a much more mature and altruistic reason. She has finally come to realize some of her motivation for claiming Aaron as her own was selfish and now she is determined to go back and find out what happened to Claire, his real mother. If I’m not careful, I might actually start to like Kate this season.

Richard agrees to heal Ben, free of charge.
APRIL FOOLS!
It will cost him HIS INNOCENCE. Mwa-hah-haaaah…

So, not only will he lose his innocence (which would certainly explain a lot of his actions as an adult), but Richard also mentioned he would lose all memory of this happening. I wonder if this is the reason why he doesn’t seem to remember the LOSTies as an adult. The temple’s “healing process” works some major voodoo on you, not only in a brainwashing sense, but also in the amnesia department. Like I said, a little hokey, but at least it may explain his lack of recollection.

The one other interesting thing that Richard said was in his interaction with one of the others who asked if he should consult with Ellie or Charles, to which he replied, “I don’t answer to either of them.” Apparently Charles is now leader of the others in 1977. It’s been about 20ish years since we saw him as a sixteen year old in the 1950s so that’s feasible. Also, if you remember, Ellie was the girl that took Faraday to defuse the bomb. So maybe Charles and Ellie are co-captains of the others crew. Perhaps more than just partners? What do we know of Penny’s mom? Nothing that I can recall. My prediction is that Ellie is Penny’s mom and something tragic happens to her later. Anyway, Richard’s comment that he doesn’t answer to them reinforces the weird hierarchy that we’ve known of all along. There are “the others”, but then there is Richard who seems to be among them, but not of them. Again, I’m sure the whole Jacob/Christian/Richard/(Charles/Ben/Locke) leadership hierarchy will be fleshed out at some point. For now, we’ll chalk that up on the to-be-answered side.

Adult Ben killed Locke.
APRIL FOOLS!
Locke is alive and well. Look out, Ben.

I liked the end. Definitely sets up a potential Ben-centric episode next. And if his expression was any indication, he did NOT expect Locke to be magically healed by the island. That and he probably crapped himself.